17-year-old charged with aggravated assault in car chase

A 17-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault and evading arrest Monday after a high-speed chase ended when he crashed his pickup in Southeast Lubbock County, police say.

Kristopher David Johnson was treated at University Medical Center and transported to the Lubbock County Jail. He had bonds totaling $5,250 for charges of aggravated assault, driving while intoxicated, evading arrest and failure to leave information, a jail spokesman said.

At one point in the chase late Sunday, the pickup sped toward a police car that had stopped in the middle of the road, police spokesman Bill Morgan said. Officer Scott O'Neill fired two shots while sitting in his vehicle as the pickup sped toward him and missed his patrol car by inches, Morgan said.

The high-speed pursuit ended about 11:30 p.m. Sunday when the pickup crashed near the intersection of county roads 2130 and 7700, police say.

The crash flipped the truck several times, and it landed in an open field.

Johnson was thrown from the truck, and a passenger suffered minor injuries.

The passenger was not arrested.

After the chase, Johnson "was laughing and smiling," according to a police report.

Johnson said he didn't stop for police because he was "drunk and stupid," the report says.

Johnson also asked police whether they had fun chasing him, the report continues.

The chase began when Officer Michael Blakney first spotted the pickup traveling 71 mph in a 45 mph zone in the 4900 block of 82nd Street, according to the police report. Blakney activated his emergency lights and followed the truck through an alley before it "wrecked into an unknown object," the police report says.

A passenger exited the car. Police later located him, but he was not arrested.

As Blakney parked behind the suspect's truck, the driver backed up and rammed Blakney's police car, the police report said.

The truck then took off again, the reports says, turning eastbound into an alley in the 5900 block of 86th Street. During parts of the ensuing chase, Blakney's speedometer read about 110 mph, according to the officer's case report.

Because an officer fired shots during the chase, a firearms review board will investigate the incident.

O'Neill reported that he fired his weapon only after checking to see whether it was safe to do so, Morgan said.